


Driving The Future

by AndreaLyn



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-19 23:59:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2407673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndreaLyn/pseuds/AndreaLyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was their fourth press conference of the year and Josh was late. Everyone was in there getting ready, but everyone didn't include Leo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Driving The Future

They were preparing for their fourth press conference of the year when it happened.   
  
Josh had been late, having been locked in a meeting with Labor about a candidate they wanted on a committee. Though, it wasn’t as if he was a sorely needed presence at press conference preparation sessions. He’d been hustling to join everyone when he noticed that not quite everyone was in there. Josh frowned as he passed Leo in the corridor.  
  
“S’up? Why aren’t you in there?” Josh nodded to the pressroom. Through the glass window, he could see movement. C.J. was raising her hand and taking over the role of reporter while Toby paced in the background. The president loomed over all of them at the podium, occasionally taking a step back to allow Sam to take the stand and demonstrate the response they had crafted earlier in the day.   
  
They both stood and watched as Sam took over, silently watching him take off his glasses thoughtfully and using his hands to make the point. Even without sound, it looked like a pretty good point. Josh turned and frowned, scrutinizing the studious look on Leo’s face.  
  
“Leo?” Josh asked again.   
  
Leo snapped into action, turning to the side and blinking.  
  
“Josh, hey,” he said warmly. “Didn’t see you there.”  
  
“I was talking to you for like…a whole minute there,” Josh scoffed, gesturing to the hallway behind him where he came. He frowned. “What’s going on? Is something…is there a thing?”  
  
Leo shook his head, his eyes going back to the pressroom. “Nah, we’re fine. I just got lost in a thought.”  
  
“Looked like a pretty in-depth thought,” Josh commented, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “We’re not in trouble, right? No leaks on anything, the President hasn’t signed away large sums of money to questionable groups? Sam didn’t sleep with another call girl?”  
  
“He’s your best friend,” Leo retorted. “You’d know before we did on that one.”  
  
“Well, unless he got better at discretion, which…” Josh snorted, “yeah right, we’re all in the clear when it comes to Sam and call girls. So, you want to tell me what’s up, or are you gonna make me guess for the next ten minutes?”  
  
“I was watching that in there,” Leo gestured to the scene. Toby and Sam were consulting something in a folder while C.J. was talking to the President (emphatically so, it seemed, by her use of hands in her speech). “Walking down the hall, about to go in, but I saw something that just stopped me.” He turned and studied Josh. “You’re going to be in my shoes one day, you know that?”  
  
“Well, not your actual shoes. I mean, no offense, but they just don’t look comfortable,” Josh said, gazing down at Leo’s shoes. “But, I mean, yeah…logically, you go from Deputy Chief of Staff to actual Chief of Staff.”  
  
“I was watching that scene in there,” Leo gestured to the room again, mirroring Josh’s posture. “The President wasn’t getting something, so C.J. started madly waving her arms around, Toby’s gesturing like there’s no tomorrow.” He stopped and chuckled at the memory. Josh turned and gave Leo his full attention. Leo turned and caught Josh’s gaze. “Sam’s been in to talk to us lately…some private meetings.”  
  
“Us?”  
  
“The President and I,” Leo clarified.   
  
“What did he talk to you…?” Josh asked, shifting his weight and feeling uneasy.  
  
Leo didn’t reply. He just turned his attention back to the room. “Toby started barking something out, I could barely hear it…everything’s muffled, and we all know how Toby likes to mumble. It could have turned into a brawl, I tell you. But Sam,” Leo gave an amused sound of laughter. “Sam just got up, calmed Toby, said something to C.J. to get her to sit down and just watch, and then briefly spoke to the President before getting permission to go up there on that stand and give the answer himself.”  
  
“Yeah?” Josh said, his voice sounding hazy.  
  
“Yeah,” Leo confirmed. “I was looking at the future of this country, Josh. The one where you’ve got hold of the reins.” He shook his head, a disbelieving look on his face. “I didn’t see it right away, you know? The President did, made all sorts of comments to me, but I didn’t see it for a while.”  
  
“Sam for President?” Josh asked hesitantly.  
  
“Sam Seaborn for President,” Leo confirmed, a clap on Josh’s back. “He’s been talking to us about running for Senate.”  
  
“Sam wants…” Josh blinked, the words not coming out. “Sam wants to quit?”  
  
“He thinks of it as a lateral career slide,” Leo said with an amused smile. “During midterms, he wants to run. We’re ready to give him our full support. And you should seriously think about helping him run the campaign.”  
  
“You guys are serious about this,” Josh said, swallowing the lump in his throat. He blinked hard, watching Sam slip his glasses on and coach the President on something or other.   
  
“Kid’s got to start somewhere,” Leo shrugged. “We figure the Senate’s as good a place as any. And he’ll win. You know he’ll win.”  
  
Josh hesitated. They’d be losing Sam on the staff, but they’d be paving their way for the future.  _Josh_  would be paving his future into the Chief of Staff position. It was tempting, extremely tempting to say the least. Josh stood; stuck in place watching Sam take the podium, gaze askance to the President and saying something, his glasses dangling between his fingers. Sam turned to the audience and said something that made C.J. and Toby laugh before yielding his place to President Bartlet. Sam Seaborn for President, Josh thought. It sounded right.   
  
“Of course he’ll win,” Josh said. “I’m going to win it for him.”  
  
“That’s the spirit,” Leo beamed, patting Josh on the shoulder once. He began to stride forward, pausing when Josh wasn’t beside him. “You coming?”  
  
“Nah,” Josh shook his head. “Go ahead, I’m just gonna…”  
  
“Watch,” Leo finished for him.  
  
“Yeah,” Josh confirmed, relaxing against the wall. Leo nodded once before entering the pressroom and whispering something into the President’s ear that was met by a warm grin. The President briefly looked at Josh and gave him a confident nod before turning his attention back to Toby.   
  
Sam Seaborn for President.  
  
Yeah, Josh could get used to that.


End file.
